A new sexual revolution is sweeping the country, and college students are on the front lines. Vanessa Grigoriadis dispels the confusion around the topic of sex on campus by embedding at schools large and small and talking candidly with dozens of students—among them, both accusers and accused—as well as administrators, parents, and researchers. Her unprecedented investigation presents a host of new truths. She reveals which times and settings are most dangerous for women; she demystifies statistics about the prevalence of campus rape; and she offers convincing if controversial advice on how schools, students, and parents can make college a safer, richer experience. The sum of her fascinating, fly-on-the-wall reportage is a revelatory account of how long-standing rules of sex and power are being rewritten from scratch.

VANESSA GRIGORIADIS is a contributing editor at the New York Times Magazine and Vanity Fair, specializing in pop culture, youth movements, and crime reporting. She is a National Magazine Award winner and has been featured on MSNBC, CNN, Dateline, and Investigation/Discovery shows.

“Grigoriadis has pulled off something truly remarkable—a nuanced and deeply compassionate account of one of the most convulsive chapters in recent American culture. Blurred Lines pushes beyond the sensationalist headlines and political rhetoric to reveal the complicated stories underneath. This book has given me a whole new understanding of how we got into this mess—and how we might get out.”—Sarah Hepola, Blackout: Remembering the Things I Drank to Forget

“An essential handbook for college students who must navigate the hazards of social media, online porn, gender fluidity, and mind-altering substances while peeling the onion layers of “consent.” It’s also required reading for any parent of college-bound children who wants to protect them from making mistakes that can ruin their lives.”—John Seabrook, author of The Song Machine: Inside the Hit Factory

“With rigorous reporting, brilliant observations and a rare absence of bias, Grigoriadis has written a fascinating and moreover an important book about a complex, controversial phenomenon. Blurred Lines is poised to become the definitive work about sex, consent, and campus life in our era.”—Meghan Daum, author of The Unspeakable: And Other Subjects of Discussion.

“The definitive book on contemporary campus sexual culture. With daring and elegance, Grigoriadis explores the myriad factors—alcohol, gender, privilege, hormones, and politics, to name a few—that converge in the sex lives of teenagers who are set free for the first time. Blurred Lines is a fascinating and nuanced account of what constitutes “ethical sex” for students, and the implications for the rest of us.”—Ariel Levy, author of The Rules Do Not Apply

“This important, incisive book brings clarity and a fresh perspective to an incredibly complex issue. Blurred Lines is a must-read for anyone heading to college, anyone who has a daughter—or a son.” —Jancee Dunn, author of How to Not Hate Your Husband After Kids

“In this brilliant, surprising book, a master of you-are-there reportage untangles the web of sex, power, and politics that’s fueling debates from college campuses to Capitol Hill.”—Gabriel Sherman, author of The Loudest Voice in the Room: How the Brilliant, Bombastic Roger Ailes Built Fox News

“This book is important, maddening, deeply unsettling and wildly entertaining. Even, or maybe especially, if you think you already know what’s happening in sexual culture, you need to read this!”—Emily Gould, author of Friendship and cofounder of Emily Books.

“Grigoriadis covers the often lecherous, always treacherous landscape of campus sex as nobody else has or could. She throws bright, fresh light on an array of collegiate characters who are sometimes appalling, sometimes appealing, and sometimes a bit of both—from Baylor’s out-of-control football stars to Columbia’s so-called Mattress Girl to a Syracuse student who dubs herself “Blackout Blonde”. She brings rare empathy and discernment to all sides of this fray. Oh, and she writes like a dream.”—John Heilemann, coauthor of Game Change and Double Down

“Grigoriadis goes gonzo on the sex- and drug-drenched world of modern campus life, navigating the war zone politics of rape with rare courage and intelligence.”—Joe Hagan, author of Sticky Fingers: The Life and Times of Jann Wenner and Rolling Stone Magazine

“The temptation is to say college was never like this in my day. But it probably was. We just didn’t see it. Generations of male American students didn’t see it. Vanessa Grigoriadis pulls the wool off that willful blindness in this sharp-eyed but humane disclosure of the politics of sex, and sex of politics, on campus circa today.”—Mark Jacobson, author of American Gangster

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